Can GLP-1 Drugs for Obesity and Diabetes Also Treat Other Diseases?

It’s hard to imagine GLP-1 drugs making more of an impact on our collective health than they already have. A new generation of these injectable medications has transformed treatment possibilities for people who have type 2 diabetes (Ozempic, Mounjaro) or who have obesity or are overweight with a related health condition (Wegovy, Zepbound).

And GLP-1s may hold even more promise for other chronic illnesses.

Although it isn’t unusual for a drug to treat more than one disease, the wide range of illnesses under investigation with GLP-1 medications is notable. What is it that makes these drugs so promising in multiple systems throughout the body?

“I believe these medications have such broad effects because a lot of health problems begin with disruptions in insulin resistance [abnormalities in how the body handles glucose] and inflammation,” says Jamy Ard, MD, a professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston Salem, North Carolina.

The combination of insulin resistance and inflammation “creates an overwhelming biological effect,” says Dr. Ard. “There is no organ system that is not affected by this internal metabolic environment.”

GLP1-based drugs are very effective at helping people reduce the number of calories they consume, which could have a direct effect on insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism, says Ard. These medications also reduce inflammation, but it’s still unclear if that’s a direct effect of the drugs or the weight loss they cause, he adds.

Although GLP-1 medications work in the pancreas to regulate insulin and glucagon, GLP-1 receptors are widely distributed in other areas of the body, including the brain, cardiovascular and immune systems, gut, and kidneys, says Diana Isaacs, PharmD, an endocrine clinical pharmacy specialist in the Endocrine and Metabolism Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

“These receptors in other areas of the body make it promising to use GLP-1s to treat other conditions,” says Isaacs.

Researchers have observed the drugs’ impact on diseases besides diabetes and obesity in clinical trials and in people taking the medications in the real world — but questions remain about whether GLP-1s are safe and effective for these other uses.

GLP-1s for Heart Disease

In March 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the GLP-1 drug Wegovy (semaglutide) to treat heart disease in people who are overweight or who have obesity — the first approval for a GLP-1 medication outside of diabetes or weight loss.

The approval happened after participants in several GLP-1 trials experienced significant reductions in major cardiac crises such as heart attacks and strokes and fewer cardiovascular deaths, says Isaacs.

That would be expected, given that obesity and excess weight are risk factors for heart attack and stroke. But other drugs and lifestyle interventions that have positive effects on glucose and weight have not demonstrated these types of impressive results, Isaacs points out. “This indicates that there are mechanisms that go well beyond just weight loss or glucose lowering,” she says.

The weight loss in the SELECT trial wasn’t especially large — on average, each participant lost around 8 to 9 percent of their body weight. “This leaves open the question that there may be some other primary effect that is yet to be determined,” says Ard.

The SELECT trial was the first large, randomized study to show that a drug used for obesity could reduce cardiovascular disease, says Isaacs. “This may change the paradigm of how we view overweight and obesity” — as cardiovascular risk factors and not just cosmetic concerns — ”and will hopefully expand insurance coverage and access for these medications for weight loss,” she says.

GLP-1s for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea is a disorder in which people briefly stop breathing or breath very shallowly during sleep, multiple times per hour. Episodes typically end with a snort or a choking sound, with the person gasping for air as they wake up.

GLP-1s for Chronic Kidney Disease

Specifically, the drug reduced the risk of worsening kidney disease, kidney failure, and death from heart disease by 24 percent.

GLP-1s for Advanced Liver Disease

In August 2025, the FDA approved Wegovy (semaglutide) to treat adults with a type of liver disease called metabolic-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), with moderate to advanced liver scarring (fibrosis), alongside diet and exercise.

MASH, previously called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, happens when excessive fat buildup in the liver leads to scarring and inflammation.

Other GLP-1 drugs are completing trials for MASH and may be approved for it soon.

GLP-1s for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease

The biggest potential impact of GLP-1s here, Dr. Ard speculates, may be in preventing disease or slowing the progression of mild cognitive impairment, a possible precursor to Alzheimer’s. “There may also be a role of using these medications in combination with other therapies that target amyloid deposition,” he says.

GLP-1s for Addiction

Soon after GLP-1s became available for diabetes and then weight loss, users began anecdotally reporting fewer cravings for things like cigarettes and alcohol and less desire to engage in compulsive activities like shopping or gambling.

“This is thought to be related to GLP-1s’ effects on the brain’s dopamine reward pathway,” says Nitya Kumar, MD, an endocrinologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Researchers are currently investigating whether GLP-1s can treat a range of substance use disorders and addictive behaviors, Dr. Kumar says, but the main focus has been alcohol use disorder.

Kumar says that more research is needed to understand what drives these effects, and GLP-1s are not currently FDA-approved to treat addiction disorders.

GLP-1s for Osteoarthritis

GLP-1 drugs may slow down the progression of osteoarthritis, as evidenced by research that found that people on the drugs lost more weight and had fewer knee surgeries, compared with people not taking a GLP-1.

GLP-1s for Psoriasis

Because this was an observational study and not a randomized trial, researchers caution that more research is needed before healthcare practitioners can safely prescribe GLP-1s to treat psoriasis itself.

GLP-1s for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome produce excess testosterone, which can lead to painful, heavy, or irregular periods, infertility, excess facial and body hair, severe acne, and small cysts on the ovaries. This hormonal imbalance can also cause metabolic complications.

Healthcare practitioners do not recommend using GLP-1s for PCOS if you are pregnant or trying to conceive.

GLP-1s for Rheumatoid Arthritis

For people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are also overweight or who have obesity, GLP-1s may offer additional benefits.

GLP-1s for Cancer Prevention

Population studies have found reductions in the risk of several obesity-related cancers in adults with obesity who take a GLP-1, compared with nonusers or those taking certain other diabetes drugs.

A retrospective analysis using electronic health records reported a 17 percent lower overall risk of obesity-related cancers, with particularly lower risks of endometrial and ovarian cancers, although there was a statistically nonsignificant increased risk of kidney cancer.

• Researchers are investigating GLP-1s for a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, osteoarthritis, psoriasis, addiction, PCOS, rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.
• Many health problems start with poor blood sugar control and chronic inflammation, which can stress the body and leave it vulnerable to disease.
• GLP-1s can help regulate blood sugar (glucose), decrease inflammation, and aid weight loss.
• These drugs are currently FDA-approved to treat type 2 diabetes, obesity, an advanced form of the liver disease MASH, obstructive sleep apnea in people with obesity, heart disease in people who are overweight or who have obesity, and chronic kidney disease in people with obesity and diabetes.